Price Enquiry Reply Template: A Short Email That Qualifies Before You Quote

BOTrento Team30 October 20268 min read

Why you shouldn't answer a price enquiry with a number straight away

"What's your price?" sounds like a request for a figure. Usually it is a request for a sense of whether you are in the right range and whether you are easy to deal with.

A number sent without context causes two problems:

• It's too low: you quote for the simplest version of the job, the buyer anchors on it, and every later correction feels like a price rise.
• It's too high: the buyer compares it with a cheaper, vaguer quote and disappears without telling you why.

A qualifying reply avoids both. It shows you are quick and competent, and it gets you the facts you need to price properly. If the enquiry really is a bare "just send me your price", our article on replies to price-only enquiries goes deeper on that case.

What to ask before quoting

Ask only what changes the price. A good test: if the answer wouldn't change your number, don't ask it. For most B2B companies the useful questions fall into four groups.

1. Scope

What exactly do they need? For an equipment rental firm that is the items and set-up; for an event or production company, the format and what is included; for a B2B service, the deliverable.

2. Volume or size

How many units, people, locations, hours or sessions? This is usually the biggest driver of price.

3. Timing

The date or deadline, and whether it is fixed. Short notice and peak periods often change what you can offer.

4. Decision and budget

Who decides, and is there a budget range in mind? Many buyers will give a range if you explain it helps you propose the right option rather than the most expensive one.

Keep it to three or four questions in a numbered list. If you need more, send a second round after the first answer. Our article on enquiry emails that request more information covers how many questions is too many.

The short reply template

Copy this, replace the brackets, and trim anything that doesn't apply to your business.

Subject: Re: Your enquiry – [short description of the request]

Hello [First name],

Thank you for your enquiry about [product/service]. I'd like to give you a price that fits what you actually need, so I have a few quick questions:

1. [Scope question – e.g. Which items / what format / which deliverable do you need?]
2. [Volume question – e.g. How many units / people / locations?]
3. [Timing question – e.g. What date do you need this for, and is it fixed?]
4. [Budget question – e.g. Do you have a budget range in mind, so I can propose the right option?]

Once I have your answers, I'll send a clear quote by [day]. If it helps, we can also go through this in a 10-minute call – just tell me a time that suits you.

Best regards,
[Name, role, phone]

It is short on purpose. The buyer can answer on a phone in a couple of minutes, and the commitment at the end ("by [day]") tells them what happens next.

When to include a ballpark

Sometimes asking questions with no price at all feels evasive, especially for a buyer who is comparing several suppliers. A ballpark can help, but only under these conditions:

• You can state a range that you would honour for a typical job.
• You say what the range assumes (for example, standard scope, one location, normal lead time).
• You say what pushes it up or down.

Add one paragraph before the sign-off:

To give you a rough idea: jobs like this usually fall between [lower] and [upper] excluding VAT, assuming [standard scope]. The final figure depends mainly on [volume] and [timing], which is why I'm asking.

If you can't honestly give a range, don't. A short reply that asks good questions is better than a range you will later have to retract.

Checklist before you hit send

1. Did you reply the same working day? Speed is part of the answer. See our guide on how to reply to sales enquiries faster.
2. Did you use the buyer's own words for what they asked for?
3. Are there four questions or fewer, each one changing the price?
4. Is there a date for when they'll get the quote?
5. If you gave a ballpark, are the assumptions written down?
6. Is the next step easy? Replying to the email or booking a call should take one action.

Once the answers arrive, move to the quote itself. Our short email quote templates help with that step.

Where this goes wrong in a busy inbox

The template is easy. The hard part is sending it to every price enquiry, every time. Enquiries arrive in a shared inbox, in Gmail or Outlook, sometimes forwarded from a colleague. The person who would normally reply is on site, at an event or on a call. The enquiry sits for a day, and then the buyer has already heard from someone else.

Then there is the second gap: you asked questions, the buyer answered, and nobody noticed. Or you wrote "I'll send the quote by Friday" and Friday came and went. Those small promises are where price enquiries quietly die, whether you track deals in Pipedrive, HubSpot or a spreadsheet.

How BOTrento handles the first reply

BOTrento Chief of Staff is a managed process for enquiries and quotes. It watches the enquiries in your mailbox and in the data you upload, and prepares a draft reply, such as the qualifying email above. It can draft in four languages: Czech, English, German and French.

• A person approves everything. BOTrento sends nothing by itself. You read the draft, edit it if you want, and send it yourself.
• A morning overview. On every working day you get a "Today 1+3" overview, in the app and by email, so the enquiry that needs an answer is not buried.
• Promises are captured. If an email says "I'll get back to you by Friday", BOTrento picks it up and reminds you.
• AI is included in the plan, with a monthly usage limit. You don't need your own API key to start. Plans and limits are on the pricing page.

To be clear about limits: BOTrento doesn't replace your CRM or accounting, and it doesn't read the contents of attachments, only the text of the email. For how it works in practice, see the process walkthrough. It was built first for event and production firms, equipment rental and B2B services, where quotes are still prepared by hand.

You can start a 14-day free trial on your own data, with no card. The 14 days begin when you first upload data or connect a mailbox. Someone from our team contacts you within 24 hours on working days to help connect your mail.